1 Kings 4
4
1 KING SOLOMON was king over all Israel.
2 These were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the [high] priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada commanded the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5 Azariah son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and the king's friend and private advisor;
6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who secured provisions for the king and his household; each man had to provide for a month in a year.
8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in Naphoth-dor (he had Taphath, Solomon's daughter, as wife);
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as beyond Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him belonged the villages of Jair son of Manasseh which are in Gilead, also the region of Argob which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath, Solomon's daughter, as his wife);
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri, in Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; only one officer was over all the country [at one time, each serving for one month].
20 Judah and Israel were many, like the sand which is by the sea in multitude; they ate, drank, and rejoiced.
21 Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,
23 Ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides harts, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl of choice kinds.
24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the [Euphrates] River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River, and he had peace on all sides around him.
25 Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all of Solomon's days.
26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.
27 And those officers provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to his table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was needed, each according to his assignment.
29 And God gave Solomon exceptionally much wisdom and understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore.
30 Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all other men–than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame was in all the nations round about.
32 He also originated 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.
34 Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 4: AMPC
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
1 Kings 4
4
1King Solomon ruled over all of Israel. 2These were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were the king's secretaries. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the royal records. 4Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 5Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the governors. Zabud, son of Nathan, was a priest and the king's counselor. 6Ahishar was the palace manager. Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of those forced to work for the king.
7Solomon had twelve area governors whose responsibilities covered the whole of Israel, providing food for the king and his household. Each one in turn arranged supplies for one month of the year.
8Their names were: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan;
10Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher was his);
11Ben-abinadab, in the whole of Naphath-dor (Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
12Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, the whole of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and across to Jokmeam;
13Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, with sixty great cities having walls and bronze bars);
14Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;
17Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead (the former country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was also a governor who was over the land of Judah).#4:19. The Hebrew text is unclear. The Septuagint reading is followed here, indicating that there was also a governor over Judah. Some however take this to refer to the previous governor mentioned who was the sole governor during this reign.
20Judah and Israel had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, they were happy. 21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, right up to the border of Egypt. They presented tribute to Solomon and served him during his lifetime. 22The food required every day for Solomon's court was thirty cors of the best flour and sixty cors of meal; 23ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and fattened poultry. 24For Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza—over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. He had peace on every border. 25During Solomon's lifetime, everyone in Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan to Beersheba. Each one had their own vine and fig tree. 26Solomon had 40,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and 12,000 charioteers. 27Every month the area governors provided in turn food for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. They made sure that nothing was missing. 28They also delivered barley and straw where they were needed for the chariot horses and cart horses.
29God gave to Solomon wisdom, very great discernment, and understanding as extensive as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the Eastern wise men, greater than all of Egypt's wisdom. 31He was wiser than anyone, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation spread through the nations around. 32Solomon composed three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs. 33He was able to discuss knowledge of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall. He taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34People from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom. They were sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard about his wisdom.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com